Symposium

Monday, March 31, 2014

Asiana: Jet Partly To Blame In California Crash

Aerial file photo, the wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 lies on the ground
after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport, in San
Francisco. Asiana Airlines says the Boeing 777 that crashed at San
Francisco International Airport had inadequate warning systems to alert
the crew to problems with air speed. In a filing with the National
Transportation Safety Board released on Monday March 31, 2014, the
airline says there was no indication that the plane's autothrottle had
stopped maintaining the set air speed.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Asiana Airlines acknowledged in
documents released Monday that its pilots failed to correct their
fatally slow approach to a landing at San Francisco International
Airport but also blamed the maker of the jet, saying it did not
automatically maintain a safe speed.

Asiana wrote in the filing made public by U.S.
accident investigators that the Boeing 777 had major design flaws that
led the pilots to believe it would keep flying at the proper speed and
failed to warn the cockpit crew in time when it did not.

Boeing Co. countered in its own filing with the National
Transportation Safety Board that the airplane performed as expected, and
the pilots were to blame for the July 6 crash because they stuck with a
clearly troubled landing.

The Asiana flight slammed into a seawall at the end
of a runway during its final approach. The impact ripped off the back
of the plane, tossed out three flight attendants and their seats, and
scattered pieces of the jet as it spun and skidded to a stop.\

In all, 304 of the 307 people aboard survived.
Coroner's officials concluded that one of three teens who died, Ye Meng
Yuan, was run over and killed by a rescue vehicle as she lay on the
tarmac. Asiana acknowledged in its NTSB filing that the crew failed to
monitor air speed in the moments before the crash and should have
aborted the landing for another go around.\

"The probable cause of this accident was the flight
crew's failure to monitor and maintain a minimum safe airspeed during a
final approach," Asiana conceded. However, Asiana argued that the
pilots and co-pilot believed the automatic throttle would keep the plane
going fast enough to reach the runway — when in fact the auto throttle
was effectively disengaged after the pilot idled it to correct an
unexplained climb earlier in the landing.

The airline said the plane should have been
designed so the auto throttle would maintain the proper speed after the
pilot put it in "hold mode." Instead, the auto throttle did not indicate
that the plane had stopped maintaining the set air speed, and an alert
sounded too late for the pilots to avoid the crash, Asiana said. The
airline added that U.S. and European aviation officials have warned
Boeing about the issue, but it has not been changed.
\
The NTSB previously said the pilots showed signs of
confusion about the 777's elaborate computer systems. The agency has
not determined an exact cause of the crash. Crew member Lee Kang Kuk was
an experienced pilot with Asiana but was a trainee captain in the 777,
with less than 45 hours in the jet. He has told transportation safety
board investigators that he did not immediately move to perform an
emergency "go around" because he felt only the instructor pilot had that
authority.

Asiana wrote to the NTSB that under its company
policy, "any pilot can and should call for a go-around — without penalty
— whenever confronted with a potential safety issue." Boeing told the
NTSB the airplane and all its systems were functioning as expected.

"Boeing believes that the evidence supports the
following conclusion: This accident occurred due to the flight crew's
failure to monitor and control airspeed, thrust level and glide path on
short final approach," the airplane manufacturer said.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE AMBROSE EHIRIM-CHIKA UNIGWE INTERVIEW

Every writer has to be able to live in the head of her characters. I had to make myself a blank blackboard for the characters to inscribe their lives on me. I had to wipe off that board every time a new character had to be created and totally surrender myself to that new character.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: THE SYLVESTER MENSAH STORY

The idea of writing a book had always engaged my thoughts based on reflections and the desire to share my experiences. The motivation was however triggered after reading the book of a gentleman l consider the busiest in Ghana, H. E. John Dramani Mahama

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: DR. APOLLOS NWAUWA

Contrary to what many think, the Igbo Diaspora is not really a homogenous, coherent group. Like other ethnic nationalities in the USA, the Igbo Diaspora consists of peoples from all walks of life separated by everything and only united by the fact that they are all Igbo. Serious social class disparity exists between them; therefore, presenting a united front in influencing or engineering actions at home continues to be a challenge.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: OZO'S KENI SAINT GEORGE

It was indeed a very boisterous, purpose driven, well-to-do Royal family. I come from a lineage of Royals and a well groomed family unit. My Father, Chief George Ozuloke, was a Court Judge for all of 18 years. He was both a Christian and Animist. He had 7 wives of which my mother was the first. I went to St. Martins Primary School and later to a wonderful School – Abbot Secondary Grammar School in Ihiala, my town. I even did a stint in Ihiala Seminary trying to be a Catholic Priest

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: JULIUS KPADUWA

The problems that confront Imo State are really not unique. It is the same problem that confronts almost every state in Nigeria, and it's one of economic development. The primary thing or my clear vision for the people of Imo State will be getting all the able-bodied men and women back to work, so that we can begin to have the quality of life that has so far eluded the people of Imo State.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE OTOKOTO SAGA INTERVIEW

Earlier this year, in January, it was reported in the country’s dailies that your father and six others had been condemned to death. Those condemned with your father were: Alban Ajaegbu, Sampson Nnamito, Ebenezer Egwuekwe, Rufus Anyanwu, Lawrence Eboh, and Chief Leonard Unogu. How is your dad related to the names I have mentioned?

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Where We Met

But seeing a Nigeria headline on my screen it then occurred to him I must either be a Nigerian or perhaps a curious minded fellow who is reading to find out about the notorious Boko Haram, if they have captured more of their victims, or if there's an ongoing battle between the insurgents and the nation's security forces. Elevating my head up and starring at each other, I told him I was Igbo

NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS

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About Me

Ambrose Ehirim is a blogger, a writer, a photo-journalist, a volunteer and teacher. He has published articles and essays in African Times, African Watch, Pace News, Los Angeles Weekly, Life & Time Magazine, Kilima, American Chronicle, Long Beach Sentinel, Reuters and many other publications. He was former editor of New Life and West Coast Bureau Chief at the BNW Magazine. An Anti-Igbo Pogrom scholar and researcher, and currently working on and researching the 'Eastside Groups and Bands' Vintage Years.'

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